(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric supply device which includes a protector mounted on a slide structure such as a slide door of a motor vehicle and receives electric power or electric signals transmitted from a fixed structure such as a vehicle body.
(2) Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 8 and 9 show an example of a conventional electric supply device (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-17032; page 4 and FIGS. 4 and 5).
An electric supply device 50 is arranged in a slide door 41 of a motor vehicle and includes a protector 42 made of synthetic resin for flexibly receiving a wiring harness 43 therein and a leaf spring 44 made of metal for biasing the wiring harness 43 upward in the protector 42.
The protector 42 is composed with a protector base (42 for convenience) and a protector cover (not shown in the figure), wherein the protector base 42 and protector cover have perpendicular walls facing with each other and an outer peripheral wall 52, the protector cover is locked to the protector base 42 with a locking means, and the protector base 42 is fixed to a panel of the slide door 41 with a bolt 56 or a locking clip.
A lower end of the leaf spring 44 together with the wiring harness 43 is fixed to a harness fixing part 55 located at a lower front end of the protector 42. An end of the leaf spring 44 slidably supports the wiring harness 43. A cap 49 made of synthetic resin is attached to the end of the leaf spring 44. The wiring harness 43 is stably supported by the cap 49.
A plurality of electric wires 43a are coated with a corrugated tube 43b made of synthetic resin, thereby composing the wiring harness 43, wherein a lower front end of the corrugated tube 43b is fixed to the protector 42 by winding with a tape. The corrugated tube 43b has concave grooves and convex strips alternately, thereby having good flexibility.
The electric wires 43a situated at one portion of the wiring harness 43 are guided out from a front of the protector 42 and connected to an auxiliary situated on the side of the slide door. The corrugated tube 43b situated at an opposite portion of the wiring harness 43 is oscillatorily arranged from a long lower opening 45 of the protector 42 to a harness fixing member (rotation clamp or harness fixing part) 53 situated on the side of a step 48 of a vehicle body 47 through a transfer space 46 (see FIG. 9), wherein the electric wires 43a (not shown in the figure) situated at the opposite portion of the wiring harness 43 are connected to a wiring harness (not shown in the figure) situated on the side of the vehicle body through the harness fixing member 53. The protector 42 is covered with and hidden by a door trim (not shown in the figure) made of synthetic resin, wherein the wiring harness 43 is guided out to the vehicle body side from an opening situated at a lower end of the door trim.
In the transfer space (transfer area) 46, the electric wires 43a in the wiring harness 43 is safely protected from outside interference, water drops or dust by the corrugated tube 43b having relatively high stiffness and high water proofing property. The harness fixing member 53 absorbs torsion of the wiring harness 43 due to oscillation generated when the slide door 41 is opened or closed.
FIG. 8 show a state when the slide door 41 is fully closed, while FIG. 9 show a state when the slide door 41 is almost fully opened. The wiring harness 43 is pulled backward in a state when the slide door 41 is fully closed, while the wiring harness 43 is pulled forward in a state when the slide door 41 is fully opened. Particularly, the wiring harness 43 tends to slacken downward in a state when the slide door 41 is half opened, but such a slack is absorbed because the wiring harness 43 is biased upward by the leaf spring 44, thereby preventing the wiring harness 43 from being caught therein due to a sag thereof.
However, in the conventional electric supply device as described above, as shown in FIGS. 10 (front view), 11 (plan view) and 12 (side view), in which a state of the wiring harness 43 is illustrated when the slide door 41 is fully closed (right side view) and when the slide door 41 is fully opened (left side view), for example, there is a case, in which a horizontal distance L′ from the harness fixing member 53 situated on the vehicle body-side to the protector 42 (more correctly, a center position of a ring-shaped wall 16 for restricting a bending angle of the harness of the protector 42) upon fully closing of the slide door 41 must be set short relatively to a stroke for opening and closing of the slide door 41 when a reinforcing member (not shown in the figure) is entered therein in order to improve stiffness of the vehicle body 47, thereby restricting the mounting position of the harness fixing member 53. In such a case, if the length of the wiring harness 43 upon fully closing of the slide door (right side view) is set with reference to the length of the wiring harness 43 upon fully opening of the slide door (left side view), a slack of the wiring harness 43 upon fully closing of the slide door is enlarged, thereby forcing that in order to absorb the slack, the leaf spring 44 must be made long and strong causing a cost-up or, alternatively, the protector 42 (FIG. 8) must be made large in its height direction causing that the size of the protector 42 might exceed a space 20 (FIG. 10) for mounting the protector 42, causing a problem that the protector 42 cannot be mounted on the slide door 41. In FIGS. 10-12, the space 20 that can receive and mount the protector 42 is shown with alternate long and two short dashes lines.
Further, since as shown in the left side view in FIG. 10, the wiring harness 43 is situated winding around the ring-shaped wall 16 of the protector 42 when the slide door 41 is fully opened, the whole length of the wiring harness 43 might tend to enlarge. Further, the wiring harness 43 or the leaf spring 44 might bend with a small radius, causing a problem that the bending durability of the wiring harness 43 or the leaf spring 44 is deteriorated.
Further, in a case that the harness fixing member 53 on the vehicle body-side is arranged in the deep inside of the step (scuff plate) 48 (i.e. in the deep inside of the vehicle body 47) or in a case that the protector 42 upon fully closing of the slide door 41 is arranged low being close to the harness fixing member 53, the wiring harness 43 might interfere with the scuff plate 48 when the slide door 41 is fully closed (i.e. when the vehicle travels), causing noise or wear.